DuPont Pioneer Canada grants funds to SDFES

Thanks to a DuPont Pioneer Canada donation of $2,500 a team of South Dundas firefighters will receive some important specialized training in the near future.

The grant is being put towards confined space and high angle training to make use of new grain extrication equipment that is especially important in a farming community.

When South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan heard about this funding opportunity, he saw it as a natural fit for the South Dundas community, and brought it to the attention of South Dundas Fire Chief Chris McDonough.

“We’re seeing more and more on-farm (grain) storage all the time, and the more on-farm storage you have, the greater the risk,” said Mellan.

Chief McDonough explained that the equipment will be stored at the fire station in Williamsburg. A small group of firefighters there will receive the training, because if this equipment is needed, it will be in rural South Dundas.

Because Leeder and Quintan Products donated the grain extrication tool, the entire $2,500 from the DuPont community investment grant will go towards the costly training.

“We’re just glad that we can be involved with something like this,” said Leeder. “Hopefully you’ll never have to use this.”

South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds was pleased to be receiving this donation and for the generosity of all involved in working together to bring this equipment to the community. “In theory, it’s nice to have,” he said, adding that he too hopes that it is never needed.

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Chances are when residential property owners in South Dundas opened their mail from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) this week, they learned that their property values have increased since the last assessment in 2008.

Not surprising as the trend is the same across the province of Ontario, which shows an average increase in residential property values of about 18 percent. Narrowing the scope to Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry residential property values have increased a little more at 18.4 percent, and in South Dundas alone, that average increase is 19.53 percent.

All increases will be phased in over four years.

Waterfront residential properties are still showing increases, but after the huge assessment increases in 2008, the increases this time are much more moderate at about 17 percent across the province. The smaller increase is due to reduced demand.

Property assessment values on farmland have taken a huge jump since 2008. Looking at the entire province, the average assessment increase on farmland is listed at about 34 percent, but that average is much higher when looking at the local picture. Looking at all of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry the average increase on farmland is a whopping 71.9 percent. Narrowing the scope to South Dundas, that average assessment increase on farmland is 49.92 percent.

Property assessment values are based on recent property sales, and with farmland, based solely on area farmer-to-farmer sales. As a result, the farming community has likely seen this assessment increase coming because they know better than most that farmland is in high demand and selling prices reflect that demand.

In a community with such a large agricultural base as South Dundas, one may think that these huge assessment increases will amount to a huge financial boon for the municipality, but the impact of these increases will be relatively small.

Although there are many variables that could affect the overall number, South Dundas treasurer Shannon Geraghty estimates that the overall increase in farmland assessments will mean additional tax revenue for South Dundas of just over $35,000 in 2013, the first year of the four year phase in.

Although farmland occupies a significant portion of the South Dundas landscape, properties classified as farmland presently account for less than five percent of the $4.9 million worth of taxes levied on South Dundas property owners.

It is provincially mandated that the farmland tax rate be one quarter of the residential rate. On a farm, the home and one acre of land are taxed at the regular residential rate. The remainder is taxed at the reduced rate.

The bulk of the tax burden in South Dundas falls on residential property owners, who carry 72 percent of the tax load. Other property tax classes including commercial, industrial, multi-residential and special/exempt are seeing very small increases in property values of about three to five percent.

In South Dundas commercial property taxes cover about 12 percent of the total levy, industrial and multi-residential carry about three percent of the burden and other categories such as pipeline and managed forest and others together carry about 10 percent of the tax load.

MPAC assesses all property in Ontario every four years. “The assessments provide the foundation on which municipalities across Ontario base property taxes. It is the accuracy of MPAC’s assessments that help ensure property owners pay their fair share of property taxes and nothing more,” reads their Market Snapshot document.

An increase in assessment does not necessarily mean an increase in property taxes.

If the assessed value has increased more than the municipal average, an increase in taxes is likely. However if the increase is less than the municipal average a decrease in taxes should result.

In a recent media release, Michel Contant, account manager in the Cornwall MPAC office said, “MPAC’s role is to accurately assess every property in Ontario. Property owners should ask themselves if they could have sold their property for its assessed value on January 1, 2012. If the answer is yes, then their assessment is accurate. If not, we are committed to working with them to get it right.”

Property owners can check the accuracy of their assessment at www.aboutmyproperty.ca.

This website allows owners to easily compare the value of their property to others in their neighbourhood and community. Registration information is included with every notice mailed out this fall.

If property owners believe their assessment is not correct, they have the option of filing a request for reconsideration and MPAC will review their assessment free of charge.

The Reverend James Tripp, who received his call to serve at the Morrisburg Pentecostal Tabernacle in March of this year, is already starting to feel at home with his new congregation and in his new community.

“It’s wonderful that this is not just a church in the community, but really a church that is very much a part of this community,” Rev. Tripp said. “We could feel that this was a church deeply involved with its community, with a strong tradition of service, and that really attracted me.”

Pastor Tripp, and his wife, Sarah, an elementary teacher, both in their 30’s, have moved to South Dundas and are currently living in Iroquois. They are expecting their first child in October so they are particularly pleased to be safely settled into their new home.

Tripp preached his first sermons as pastor at the Morrisburg Pentecostal Tabernacle in May. He assumed the full time position following the retirement of long-serving pastor, Duncan Perry, who retired late last year. The Reverend Lorna Casselman has been the interim pastor while the Morrisburg Pastoral Search Committee looked for a full time candidate.

“I believe the Pastoral Committee got my resumé from our District Office,” Rev. Tripp explained. “They seemed to feel I might be a good fit with this congregation. We did an initial telephone interview, followed by a face-to-face. Then I was presented to the congregation to ‘preach for the call’. The entire membership of the church makes the final decision, on the recommendation of the Committee.”

Pastor Tripp brings a wealth of experience to his new charge.

An only child, he grew up in Mount Bridges, Ontario, attending high school in Strathroy. “I knew that I would be a pastor at a very young age,” he said. “I truly felt it was my calling, my purpose. I was about seven or eight. My parents were definitely alright with this decision as church was a strong part of our family experience.”

He completed his theological education at Eastern Pentecostal Bible College, now known as Master’s College and Seminary in Peterborough. He served five years at Bethel Church in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, in the Kawartha cottage country. Before that, he was an assistant pastor at a church in New Hamburg, in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He did 10 years of student ministry at different churches before he went to Bobcaygeon.

Pastor Tripp has also been involved in missions and cross cultural work.

He spoke at a conference in Trinidad and worked in Poland, Cuba and the Czech Republic. “These were short term experiences. We were partnered with local churches, “church planting” or starting up churches in communities without them.”

He hopes that somewhere down the road, the possibility of going overseas again will continue to be an option. “Perhaps one day I will be able to take teams from Morrisburg,” he said.

He praises the outstanding staff he has at the Tabernacle. He also has a new assistant pastor, Sharon Bretz, who just started work a week ago.

“I think that this church is very welcoming to families. We encourage people to come to us ‘just as they are.’ I think, too, that it is our mission to serve this community, and I am definitely looking forward to all the challenges ahead,” said pastor James Tripp.

“Our church doors are open, and we would love to meet people. Please feel free to drop in.”

Morrisburg’s Giant Tiger donated $350 to the Dundas County Food Bank on June 4th. The donation arose from a recent Easter contest whereby customers, for the price of $1, could submit their guess of how many jellybeans were contained in a giant mason jar. In the end, store manager Ken Rundle said approximately 347 guesses were submitted and he rounded the number up to an even 350. Store staff unanimously chose to donate the money to the food bank, said Rundle. Sean Dowson submitted the closest guess, winning a $50 gift card as well as the jar of 1,537 jellybeans. Dowson’s guess was just 10 jellybeans shy of the actual number! On hand to receive the donation were four representatives from the Dundas County Food Bank’s board of directors. The Dundas County Food Bank is currently in need of the following items: Kraft dinner, brown beans, spaghetti sauce, canned meat, canned vegetables, Jello, and instant pudding.